The Guest who stayed have taken things when I have repeatedly said to leave them where they belong t

[Souad1]

Hey,
The guests arrived, Nothing much to complain of.But we are extremely dissapointed of them for taking our Information books, Phone chargers and some other small stuff with them.
We are a guest house and we have over a 50% infulx of Chinese, So we had the Lonely Planet newest version with us in Chinese.When the guest asked for it I was so delighted so thatI could help them and I repeatedly said to leave it before you leave as others use it.But he has taken the book with him,
In the night he asked for an adapter to charge the phone, again I gave one from the set we give out for the guests.He has taken it with him as well.
Everything you give it to them they have taken it away with them.The girl asked for a lighter just before leaving and I barely found a match box as we have got no smokers at home, I left it with them saying to leave it on the table and went to check their rooms and they have gone with all.
This is very disappointing as they have taken away stuff more valuable to the other guests who stay in here which is information.
I will categorize this as theft as I have repeatedly said to leave them where they belong as the others use it but not taken my words seriously.
Regards
Souad

[Karen-and-Brian0]

Hi @Souad1 This is a common, annoying problem. For larger items, like the Lonely Planet guide, writing "Property of ..." or "Please leave for other guests" in bold black marker on the front might help (no guarantees though). I have found big, clear labels do seem to help. I've lost a phone charger to a guest and now just don't offer the use of one. You can try going after them using the Resolution Centre to get reimbursement so you can purchase new ones, I've had good success going that route - usually it's an oversight & they have no porblem paying for the items. Hope that helps - Karen

[Souad1]

Thanks Karen for the prompt reply.I better let it go as the guest called later and said that he lost the book and he is so sorry about it.Before I gave the book we had again he said he bought the book brand new and he lost it so could he borrow one from us.

Anyways I did not want to take it further and will take it as a good experience.

We live in an ancient heritage region , which is the Dutch Fort in Galle.So our guests love the information about it and we always try our best to make our guest satisfied even when sometimes they are extremely inconsiderate and annoying.

But thanks for the info.I dont want to make the guest unhappy and trigger them to leave a negative review due to thier anger which could be fabricated and to tarnish the journey on airbnb which I did build up just within 4 months to become a 5 star host.So by looking into that aspect I would rather drop this off.

Kind Regards

Souad